British mother fighting for life after being struck by lightning on beach in Croatia

A British mother is fighting for her life in hospital after she was reportedly struck by lightning on a beach in southern Croatia, according to police.

Local police in Split, on the Adriatic coast, were called to reports that a woman had been injured by a lightning strike on Kasjuni beach at 3.15pm on Saturday.

She received medical treatment and was taken to hospital where she is being kept for further treatment.

Police said in a statement that “her life is in danger."

They added eyewitnesses had seen lightning strike an area of land above the beach.

“An investigation will be conducted at the scene and all the circumstances of this accident are being determined," the statement added.

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The woman, said to be a 48-year-old British national, was sunbathing with her daughter when a thunderstorm moved in, according to MailOnline.

She was struck and knocked unconscious as they tried to reach a nearby hotel, before her daughter’s screams alerted a medic who was dealing with a bike accident in a triathlon taking place nearby, it is reported.

An official from the Marjenski Dir triathlon told MailOnline: “The woman was struck close to the beach and fortunately for her one of our on-call medics who was attending the event managed to revive her.

“He was close by dealing with a bike accident that had just taken place and when he heard the screams he rushed over to help the woman and he stabilised her until the ambulance arrived.”

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are providing support to the family of a British national in Croatia and are in contact with the local authorities.”